Beverages, such as sodas and energy drinks, can include a number of polar ingredients, which are easily soluble in the water matrix of the drinks. These ingredients include sweeteners (sugars and sugar substitutes), caffeine, vitamin supplements, amino acids, organic acids, and plant extracts. Because the analytes are already in solution, there is no need for extensive sample preparation. Dilution followed by direct injection into an HPLC is typically suitable.
In this article we present two beverage applications using Ascentis Express HPLC columns. Ascentis Express columns offer faster HPLC on any system. One benefit is their ability to produce the resolution, efficiency, and speed on conventional HPLC systems that is associated with the use of sub-2 micron columns on a UHPLC system, without generating high backpressure. Column chemistries (RP-Amide and HILIC) were selected for this article based on their enhanced performance with polar compounds in comparison to C18.